Not Another Teen Deltora Story
by homesweethomicide13
Summary: Lief was glad to move back to his home town, and glad to see his old friends again. Of course, they've all grown up in the last six years, and life is about to get a little more wild...


**Title:** Not Another Teen Deltora Story  
**Author:** homesweethomicide13  
**Rating:** T  
**Pairing:** BardaLindal, various others throughout story.  
**Warning:** Bad language, more mature themes such as alcohol etc  
**Disclaimer:** If only...  
**Summary:** Lief was glad to move back to his home town, and glad to see his old friends again. Of course, they've all grown up in the last six years, and life is about to get a little more wild...

_**Author's Note:** Okay, so in the DQ fandom there are quite a few stories that have the crew as teenagers in high school, and along those lines, and I myself have fallen victim to the AU Teen Deltora curse (so far, this is the only product of that published), BUT I refused to follow the same pattern that I have seen repeated in such stories - there is no "new kid" (usually tends to be Lief or Jasmine), it will not be based around a high school (for starters, not all of them are the same age in this story), it will not be a sappy romance that slowly develops between two of the characters, and I will try and make it as far from cliche as possible. Also, I wrote this out of pure boredom and for a laugh, so you don't have to take it seriously XD Yes, there will be bad language, mentions of alcohol and other adult stuff - I rated it T for a reason, and no, it's not Jarda (though there may be hints of it throughout... because I just can't write something without Jarda going on these days XD). The main pairing is BardaLindal because Barda is love. I will add some LiefJasmine to satisfy you LJ fans out there. Just some trivia for you - the drunken experiences that Doom and Barda will mention in various chapters of the story are all loosely based on the drunken experiences of myself and my friends. XD Enjoy!_

**Not Another Teen Deltora Story**

**Chapter 1: It's Good To Be Home**

Lief rolled down the passenger side window and breathed in the fresh, coastal air as his mother drove along the main route to Del. It had been six years since he'd last been in Del, after he and his mother had moved to Tora following his father's death, and he was glad to be finally going home. He was especially excited about seeing his friends again. He'd missed them the most.

It didn't take long to get to Del and find their new house – only a few down from their original house, which he was pleased about – and he was eager to get everything unpacked so that he had time to go find his friends. He was just helping his mother position the sofa when his phone vibrated and began ringing. Grinning, he pulled it from his pocket, and looked at the caller ID before answering.

"Ranesh! How's it going?" He asked with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm back. Just got here, actually. Oh really? Now? I don't know if I can…" He glanced at his mother, who smiled and nodded at him. "Oh! I can! Excellent… yeah, usual place? I can't wait. I'll be right there!" He ended the call and hugged his mother. "Thanks so much!"

"I know how much you've missed them." She smiled, returning the hug. "Now go and have fun. The neighbours have offered to help, in any case. Just be back before dinner, okay?" He nodded and darted out the door, running towards the spot Ranesh had said to meet. It took him all of ten minutes to get there, and when he turned off the street and down the familiar alley to the old, abandoned garage-shed, he could feel his heart drumming against his ribs. How much had they all changed in six years? He had been ten years old when he'd left – as had most of his friends. Marilen and Josef had been nine, and he'd had a few older friends too. He could hear their voices already, and he bolted towards the half-broken door with new energy. He knocked on the crumbling wood, and was instantly met with Ranesh's grinning face.

"Lief!" He laughed, pulling him through the door and into the large space beyond. He was instantly the center of a group hug. "It's good to see you again." When he was finally free, he took a chance to take in the appearance of his old friends. Marilen was as he remembered – soft-faced and petite with her big, dark eyes and long black hair. Ranesh had grown taller than him at last, but his soft grey eyes and unruly mass of dark brown hair was the same. Josef, Ranesh's younger brother, was almost the same height as him now, which was a big change – Josef had been very short when he was younger. Anna and Sharn, the twins, were no longer hard to tell apart – Anna's hair was shorter, and more boyish, whereas Sharn's was still long and beautiful. And then there was Jasmine – one of his best friends. She was so much more grown-up now, and very beautiful. Her hair now hung to the middle of her back, and her emerald-green eyes shone brighter than ever. He felt his heart beat quicker when she smiled at him.

"Oh Lief, we've missed you!" Another group hug kicked into action, before Lief pulled away and frowned slightly.

"But where is…?" They all knew who he was asking for. There were still two members of the group missing.

"We called them." Ranesh told him. "They were both asleep, but they're on their way."

"Yeah, they were apparently recovering from some party last night." Anna added with a laugh.

"Of course! They'd be in college now, right?" Lief asked, and Anna nodded. "Wow… it's been so long." Sharn smiled.

"It has. So what was Tora like?" She asked him. Lief sat down on one of the wooden boxes in the garage, waiting for the others to do the same. Anna chose to sit on the floor.

"Was it better than Del? Did you make better friends?" She asked with a smirk. Lief laughed. He'd missed Anna's boyish attitude. In Tora, the girls were more like Sharn and Marilen.

"It was okay there, I suppose. I didn't really go out of my way to make any friends, but I had a couple." He shrugged. "None of them can compare to you guys though. You're the best."

"And it's bloody good to hear it." A new voice added. Lief jumped to his feet and spun around to face the door, where a tall young man was standing – his dark hair was long, tied back into a ponytail, and it made his sharp, green eyes stand out against his tan skin. He grinned at Lief, who cried out happily and hugged him. "You've grown, buddy. Not so little anymore, are you?"

"I've grown? What about you, Jarred?" He laughed, tilting his head back to look at Jarred's face. "When I left, you weren't much taller than me."

"Yeah well, I hit a growth spurt around fourteen and I haven't stopped since." Lief laughed. When he'd left, Jarred had been thirteen – and constantly mocked for his height. He'd missed Jarred and Jasmine the most – brother and sister had been his best friends for as long as he could remember. They'd grown up together. "Oh, and I've been told to warn you about what you are about to see. It was a drunken dare, and he regrets it." There was the sound of a throat clearing outside. "I've also been told to tell you that if you laugh, you will be taking a trip out of a window." After a few confused laughs sounded in response, Jarred stepped further into the garage to free up the doorway. Lief frowned and tilted his head to one side slightly in confusion. Heavy footsteps sounded, along with the rattle of several chains, and a pair of heavy, steel-plated boots appeared in the broken bottom half of the door. Slowly, the door creaked open, and a _very_ tall young man strode in, the hood of his jacket pulled tightly over his head. Lief grinned when he stared up at the man's face.

"Barda!" Barda grinned back at him.

"Yo, Lief." His voice was gruff, and a pair of sunglasses covered his eyes – the signs of a bad hangover. "It'd be great if the noise was kept to a minimum. Doom dragged me out of bed before I could get to the headache pills." Lief smiled at the use of Jarred's nickname. He'd first heard about this new name via email a couple of years ago, around the same time he learnt that both Barda and Jarred had gone to the dark side, as his friends called it. Obviously neither of them had given up the look, either – Barda especially.

"Not going to show them the result of drinking too much, Barda?" Jarred teased, poking him sharply in the ribs.

"No. Fuck off." Barda growled, stepping out of reach. "Or I'll show them the video I have on my phone of some of the stuff you got up to last night." Jarred paled slightly, and then leapt at Barda.

"You told me you deleted that!" He hissed, grabbing at the sleeve of Barda's jacket as the other boy jerked away from him.

"Why would I delete perfectly good blackmail?" Barda laughed, dodging Jarred's attack and jogging away from him, standing behind Jasmine. "How about I show your little sister what her brother does when he's had a little too much whiskey?"

"I swear, Barda, if you make any movement towards your phone I will fucking hurt you so bad." Jarred warned him. "You even speak about what went on last night and I will start another prank war and this time I _will_ win." Barda simply grinned.

"No you won't, because I have Lindal on my side." Jarred opened his mouth to argue, paused, and then sighed.

"Damn, that's true. That girl is a genius at prank wars." He admitted in defeat. "Even so – I _will_ hurt you." Barda shrugged.

"Bring it on. Besides, I'm sure you have plenty of blackmail against me. I know for a fact there was a video camera being passed around last night." Jarred laughed and nodded. "And, of course, you have the ultimate weapon." A mischievous glint appeared in Jarred's eyes.

"Oh, why of course." He purred. "But am I really that harsh?" Barda nodded. "Hey! I am not." Jarred crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. Lief watched the interaction with amusement. He'd missed these two – they were the same age, with only a few days between them, and despite their constant bickering and fighting, they were really close friends. There was never a dull moment with Barda and Jarred.

"So where exactly did you go last night?" Ranesh asked, still fascinated with their student life.

"Well at first it was just a gathering down the local club, but then we all started drinking heavily and we ended up at someone's place, and that's where it all went to shit." Jarred grinned.

"Yup. That's when the drinking got really insane, and people were doing weird shit and daring other people to do stuff, too. I can't even remember most of the night." Barda added. "All I know is that I somehow went from doing whiskey and vodka shots with Jarred and a couple of guys we know from college, to allowing some random girl to do body shots off me whilst another guy was pouring whiskey down my throat… and then the rest of it is a blur until I woke up with half my body in bed, and my face against the hard floor." Lief cracked up laughing as he pictured that. "I then received a horrible shock when I dragged myself into the bathroom to try and get rid of the stench of whiskey from my entire body." He scrunched his face up in disgust as he remembered it. "Ugh, what did I do? Take a bath in a tub full of whiskey?" Jarred smiled.

"No." He replied. He waited a moment before adding, "it had tequila in it, too." Barda shook his head with a laugh.

"So what was the 'horrible shock' you spoke of?" Anna asked him. Jarred laughed and walked around to Barda's side. Without warning, he reached up and whipped back Barda's hood, revealing what was beneath it. There was silence among the group for a long time before everyone burst out laughing. Lief felt tears spring into his eyes as he tried to regain control of his breathing – instead of the lovely, blue-black locks he remembered, Barda's hair was now a shockingly bright hot pink.

"Apparently someone dared me to dye my hair pink." He muttered. "And being the stupid moron that I am, I agreed." Jarred grinned and gently patted Barda's cheek.

"That isn't the only thing you agreed to do." Barda covered his ears with his hands.

"I don't want to know!" He growled. "Don't tell me _anything_. Though I do have to ask… just who exactly did I end up kissing last night? I know I kissed someone cause there's a video on my phone of it, but I can't see who it was." Jarred quickly turned a bright shade of red. Barda's jaw dropped slightly. He reached up and ripped his sunglasses off, staring at Jarred in shock. "No… please don't tell me… it was…" Jarred averted his eyes.

"We were both so drunk…" Jasmine stared at the two of them and then laughed.

"You two… kissed each other?" She asked with a grin. "Oh that is classic. That's just perfect!" Anna had her hand clapped over her mouth, but her amusement was clear in her eyes.

"Lindal enjoyed it." Jarred added, still avoiding Barda's gaze. "I think she was the one who filmed it – I certainly know she was the one who suggested it." Barda remained speechless for a moment, before he buried his face in his hands and turned away, running his fingers through his now-pink hair.

"I don't believe it." He murmured. "I mean, I knew it was a guy but… you? Oh man… I made out with my best friend…" He quickly spun around to face him. "Please say that's all we did!" Jarred nodded. "Oh thank fuck…" He groaned, tugging his hood back over his head. "I am _never_ drinking again."

"You always say that, yet a few days from now you'll be down the club drinking the night away." Lief turned to stare at the young woman who had just entered the garage. He'd never seen her before, but from the way everyone seemed to greet her with smiles, she was part of their group.

"Alright, fine. I am never drinking _that much_ again." Barda shot back. She laughed and stalked over to him, whipping back his hood – and nearly doubling over with laughter.

"So it _is_ true!" She grinned. "When Gers told me you'd actually agreed to that dare, I didn't believe him – but now I do!" Barda scowled and pulled his hood back up.

"Shut up." Jarred saw Lief's confused expression and smiled.

"Lief, this is a friend of ours, Lindal. Lindal – this is Lief, our old friend. He's just moved back." Lindal turned to grin at him.

"Howdy there, Lief. You'll probably see a lot of me from now on – I tend to hang around Barda to make his life hell." She laughed. "I have him completely whipped, you see." Lief raised his eyebrows in surprise. Jarred laughed.

"She's his girlfriend, Lief." Now it all made sense. "They've been together for… jeez, how long?" He questioned, looking at both of them.

"Too long." Barda muttered with a smirk, and Lindal turned and smacked him hard round the back of his head. "Ow, hey!"

"Almost two years, if you must know." Lindal laughed. Lief grinned. He wasn't at all surprised that Barda had picked such a feisty girl, but it was still quite a shock to him. When he'd left, Barda and Jarred had really only just started becoming interested in girls, and now one of them was in what appeared to be a very serious relationship. He quickly glanced at Anna. She'd confided in him a few years back, telling him that she'd started having feelings for Barda, and he wondered how she'd taken the news about Lindal. "I take it you have a hangover?" He turned back to Lindal and Barda, and watched Barda nod slowly. "Then you're going to love what I have for you."

"Headache pills?" He asked with hope. She shook her head.

"Better." And produced a can of beer from her bag. Barda's eyes lit up, and he reached for it. "Ah-ah. Not so fast, mister." Barda rolled his eyes.

"You're not honestly going to make me beg for it, are you? I know it worked that one time, but–," Lindal put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"As much fun as that would be, I'm not going to make you beg for it." She smirked. "I just want something in return." Barda grinned and turned to the group.

"Okay people, public display of affection coming up – avert your eyes." They all did so with a laugh, and Barda leant forward to kiss Lindal. When he pulled back, she slipped the can of beer into his hand, and he cracked it open instantly. "Ah… the best way to cure a hangover – don't stop drinking." Jarred laughed as Lindal tossed him a can, too, and they both took a long swig.

"So… do we have any plans for the day, or will it be the usual routine?" Ranesh laughed. Their usual routine was pretty much hanging around in the garage until they all had to go home.

"I'm guessing the usual routine." Jasmine grinned. "Besides, we have a lot to talk about. We have to fill Lief in on everything that's happened here, and in return he has to fill us in on what he's been up to."

"Alright, let's get comfortable then. This could take a while." Marilen grinned. Jarred took a seat next to Lief, and Barda sat himself down on the floor with his back to the wall, Lindal sitting beside him and draping her legs over his. She reached over and took the can out of his hand, drinking from it before putting it back. When he scowled at her, she simply laughed and pushed his hood back again, running her fingers through his hair. Lief smiled when he heard her quiet words to him.

"I think you look good with pink hair." Lief's smile turned into a grin – because she spoke the truth.

No other guy could pull off pink like Barda could.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** If there are any mistakes in this chapter, forgive me - I am writing this at 4am and under the heavy influence of various caffeinated drinks. That would also explain any odd or apparently random moments. If this chapter seems to drag on or whatever, it's because it's only an introduction to the story. The real story will start in the next chapter. _

_Some more trivia for you - how I came up with the title. Well, I went through various titles, trying to find one that would fit the theme of the story, but I ended up hating each one I came up with, and so... after a lot of thought, and remembering the fact that this will be one of many teen Deltora stories, I instantly thought of 'Not Another Teen Deltora Story'. XD_

_Also - Barda with pink hair? Classic. That idea came from a hilarious conversation with my very own Doom, in which Doom also had bright green hair. However, the only difference between this story and that conversation was that Barda and Doom lost a bet and the hair dye was the punishment for losing - I decided it would be funnier if Barda dyed his hair when he was completely wasted, and forgot about it until the next morning when he caught a glimpse of his reflection._

_Drunk Barda is love. XD To see more of him, please review!_


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